“Test & Keep iPhone 5” SMS Texting Scam Continues

A scam purporting to offer you the opportunity to “test and keep the New iPhone5!” began making new rounds on Thursday. TMO readers and staff members received text messages with the bogus offer, which is an effort to lure people to a website and give up personal information or some other nefarious scheme.

The scam message many of us have received:

Sample SMS Text Scam Message

We are showing the URL so that our readers can be warned simply to stay away from the site. We, on the other hand, were foolish and looked at the site for you:

Oh look! We’re just in time! Only five minutes left! Scam Site: Do Not Go Here Or Enter Any Information at All

My mum even got one of these in February. Though no technophile, she had the good sense to be dubious and Skyped me about it. I covered the basic points you list above with her back then. Curiously, I did not get one of these while abroad, but did get this one yesterday.

It is strange that these fraudsters could be successful by soliciting testers for a company world renown, indeed notorious, for its prerelease secrecy. The incongruity is palpable. At least for those who palpate.

It is strange that these fraudsters could be successful by soliciting testers for a company world renown, indeed notorious, for its prerelease secrecy. The incongruity is palpable. At least for those who palpate.